French sex-toy market gets eco-friendly

Sex toy businesses in France are jumping on the organic and nature-friendly bandwagon, and finding out that mixing sex and ethics can be profitable.

Sex sells, but French entrepreneurs are discovering that so does organic.

Eager to please environmentally-conscious consumers, French manufacturers and retailers of sex toys and other adult products are going green, and reportedly finding the unexpected liaison is good business.

It is the case of Divinextases, a brand specializing in organic erotic cosmetics that was launched two years ago. The company sells an array of products including edible perfumes, massage oils and even a post-spanking balm.

The company claims on its website that all its products are made from 98% to 99.5% organic ingredients, are palm oil-free, and bottled and packaged in recycled glass and cardboard.

Divinextases president Frederic Donnat told AFP that sales tripled to 450,000 euros once he refocused the brand around the eco-friendly spirit. The cosmetics pioneer has even secured a quality label from France's national organic federation.

Claude Laboratoires is another French business who has seen profits rise on the success of its “100% organic, 100% made in France” erotic supplements.

It markets its so-called “Virile Virgil” pills as a completely natural alternative to erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra. The company’s line of sex-enhancing products includes tablets to naturally increase vaginal lubrication, promote anal sex and boost stamina.

The company, which sells its products online and in its own Paris boutique, has said that it projects sales to increase by 300% next year.

Retailers are also joining up.

The recently launched website arbredesplaisirs.com (in French, 'tree of pleasure') caters to kinky consumers who are mindful of a healthy body and a healthy planet.

The website sells dildos, vibrators and a variety of other sex toys that are promoted as phthalates-free. Phthalates, a chemical widely used in plastics, may pose health risks to humans, according to some studies.

It is behind an initiative to recycle old vibrators, offering 50% off the purchase of a new sex toy for the return of used one. It also sponsors a programme to foster the restoration of forests in the Amazon, promising to plant one tree for the purchase of specific sex toys.

While the new enthusiasm for organic in France’s sex toy industry is turning heads, it is slightly behind the curve.

San Francisco-based adult store Good Vibrations has been phthalates-free since 2007, and has since adopted an “Ecorotic” rating system to inform consumers just how green their pleasure is.